Women at Saudi soccer games for first time

Female fans are expected at a stadium in the western Saudi city of Jeddah later on Friday, marking the first time women are allowed to attend soccer matches in the conservative kingdom.

Some 10,000 seats have been allocated for women and families in King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah for the domestic league match between al-Ahly and al-Baten.

It is one of three games that Saudi authorities said women would be allowed to attend this month.

The two others will be held on Saturday and January 18 in the capital Riyadh and the eastern city of Dammam respectively.

At least 1,200 tickets have been bought by women and families for Friday's game, Saudi newspaper Okaz reported, citing a sales official.

"We expect the sales to rise in the hours ahead of the match," Adel Kabli, the operating manager of Makani, an e-ticket site, said.

Both teams have put on sale female shirts with their distinct colours at discount prices to attract women supporters, Saudi media reported.

Soccer is the number one sport Saudi Arabia, who have also qualified for the World Cup in Russia.

In October, the Saudi General Sports Authority, a state agency, announced that three stadiums, up to now male-only facilities, would be prepared to be ready for families, including the allocation of special places for seating and entrances.

In September, Saudi King Salman bin Abdelaziz announced that women would be allowed to drive starting from next June, a move that ended a long ban.

Powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is believed to have championed lifting the ban as he is seeking to open up the country and revamp its international image.